American History: Slavery

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Slavery (APA) American History "Slavery" (Order #A2094863) Question #1 In the first half of the 19th century the Untied States quickly expanded westward, but as the country grew the expansion of slavery became a hotly contended issue. Those states that already allowed slavery, mostly the South, wanted to expand the institution into newly established territories and states, while non-slave states in the North wanted to curtail it. In response, a series of compromises were reached in Congress where each new non-slave state admitted to the Union was balanced by a new slave state. This balance maintained the peace between pro-slavery and non-slave states for most of the first half of the 1800's. But as both sides continued to compromise over the issue of slavery, radical splinter groups began to emerge on both sides which sought to disrupt the compromises. The Southern states, which relied on slavery for the continuation of their plantation system, argued that the expansion of slavery into new territories was critical for the nation's economy. In spite of the economic advantages for the wealthy, many Southerners claimed that slavery "promised the common man great wealth." (Schultz, 2011, p.234) In the North, however, there were different reasons for opposing the expansion of slavery. While many know of the Abolitionist movement and its moral objection to slavery, and even of the economic opposition to slavery from white workers, not many realize that it was Northern
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